Our Impact
Our Impact
IQSS has encouraged and allowed researchers to think more expansively and take on projects that would have been impossible otherwise. The transformational impact of IQSS is demonstrated in the following examples.
Investigating Flight Attendants' Safety
In the longest-running longitudinal study of its kind, a study by Dr. Eileen McNeely, executive director of SHINE at IQSS, collected data on uniforms from major US airlines. Laboratory tests found harmful substances on a manufacturer's uniforms, and analysis showed a clear connection between the introduction of these uniforms and reports of debilitating medical issues such as respiratory problems and thyroid disease. These findings provided evidence in a class action lawsuit holding the uniform manufacturer accountable for the resulting health effects.
Read about the Flight Attendant study
Pandemic Precautions and Partisanship in Indonesia
The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States has shown how strong an effect partisan politics can have on the public's response to a health crisis—but do we see similar behavior in other democracies? In his study of Indonesian politics, IQSS graduate affiliate Seth Soderborg noticed familiar dynamics taking shape around the pandemic and partisan thinking.
Read about Seth Soderborg's research on COVID-19 precautions and Indonesian partisanship
Latanya Sweeney’s Technology Science Research Collaboration Network
Latanya Sweeney received a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, to engage a network of scholars and students across the country to explore and scientifically investigate the unforeseen consequences of technology. The MacArthur grant funded a wide array of activities at Harvard—and with data privacy issues emerging as one of the thorniest challenges societies face in the digital age, the findings of the Sweeney research and the work that continues to be done in this area should not be underestimated.
Learn more about the Latanya Sweeney's Projects
Keeping Internet Connectivity Data Private
As a participant in the IQSS Postdoctoral Fellows Program, Dr. Suso Baleato leveraged IQSS-based research tools to measure digitization around the world using internet connectivity statistics. It was critical to be able to produce his results in a secure and privacy-preserving way to protect this sensitive data. His research earned him the annual poster prize of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Postdoc Research Symposium.
How IQSS supported Baleato's work
Exploring the Impacts of Partisan Segregation
Working with the Center for Geographic Analysis (CGA), Professor Ryan Enos combined voter demographics with geographic data to understand how much individual people are exposed (or not) to opposing political viewpoints. This work included the creation of large scale geospatial processing and analytical capability to support the analysis of a 300 billion record data set, which was used to construct individual levels of partisan exposure at several approximated geographies for each voter in US.
More about CGA's work with Enos
Our Community
IQSS is comprised of faculty and students representing nearly every school within Harvard, plus visiting scholars, fellows, and postdocs from institutions across the globe. These scholars are supported by a staff of more than 50 dedicated IT professionals, administrators, and support personnel. The strength of our community is derived from our philosophy of collaboration: the more information we share, the better the social science research and the more likely it is that we will be able to fix some of the world’s most complex social problems. Join us in our efforts!
IQSS Financial Supporters
The work of IQSS would not be possible without the generous support of many individuals and organizations.